Weaving a Community

‘Community’ has become a bit of a buzz word of late. There must be a good reason for it.

I think that many people are realising the importance of support networks in their lives. Since becoming a parent nearly one year ago, I have certainly gained a greater appreciation of what it means to have a community around me. Thanks to the meaningful connections that my partner and I have made with other young families in our local area over the past months, I now feel part of a fledgeling community.

Within a short walk or short bus-ride, I now have a number of people I know that I can turn to for moral and practical support. Other new parents walking this path of joys and challenges and looking at it from a similar perspective to me.

Just this last week, I have been part of a couple of enjoyable examples of community life.

One was the Hand-Me-Down Hub that took place at BubHub last Thursday. Several mums brought along the baby clothes, toys and books to pass on to other families.

So simple and yet, what easier way to get maximum use out of our baby gear, save money and give to your neighbour at the same time. Keep it in the BubHub family!

Another experience took place earlier this evening. Crimbo (another BubHub starter-upper) and her son, Louis, came by for a spontaneous cup of tea this afternoon after we all met accidentally at the library.

I offered to make our boys some dinner, so while Crimbo kept the two little ones occupied on the kitchen floor with a colander and a couple of spoons, I chopped and cooked the veggies.

The two boys happily ate their evening meal alongside one another. Then, just as our guests were thinking about heading home, they decided to stay for bath time. The two kids splashed about in the tub together. It was my son Surya’s first experience of a bath shared with someone close to his age.

Our friends departed in the autumnal darkness. As I was breastfeeding Surya before sleep, I reflected on the sweetness of the evening. It felt like simple village life, with mothers preparing meals collectively and the babes washing together in the same bath.

Crimbo and I agreed that we must do it again some time soon.

In the coming months and years, I hope that I will be part of many other experiences of a living community; where the daily lives of adults and children are woven together.